Spirit Guardian
by SageofAges729
Summary: Naruto was always hated. Few ever showed him compassion, but there were those who did. One of them was spirit. A Sprirt Guardian.


-1Hello to all readers! This is SageofAges729, and another one of my Naruto fanfics. I'll give you guys details as to where I got this oneshot idea after the story. Read on!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the picture that gave me this idea! (Although I do have the picture on my wall.)

Guardian Spirit

"Get outta here!"

A four year old boy was thrown out of the orphanage onto the wet pavement outside. You couldn't see much of the boy's face because of the hood of his bright yellow rain jacket a person was kind enough to give him, but the caretakers at the orphanage knew full well who, and what, he was.

"If you come back around here again, it'll be the last time, understand?" the man roared, causing the little boy to flinch. A younger caretaker beside him grabbed a stone and threw it at the child.

The little boy got up, but was hit in the face by the rock, cutting his forehead. Crying, he ran from them.

"Hey, what if 'Baa-chan finds out?" one of the younger caretakers asked.

"We'll just tell her he ran away or somethin'," the man shrugged. "We shouldn't have to take care of that damn fox anyway."

The little boy kept running, not knowing what else to do. He splashed straight through a puddle, but took no notice. 'What if they're chasing me? What if they catch me?'

That fear made him go faster, but being four years old, his coordination wasn't all that good. The blood from the injury on his forehead dripping down into his eyes didn't improve matters either. He ended up falling, scraping his hands.

"Owie…" He looked at his hands, blood slowly seeping through, then washed away by the rain. He looked up, only to realize that he was lost.

Lost, cold, and hurt, the child began to cry. Curling up into a little ball and leaning against the wall of a building, he stayed there. He didn't notice the hood of his jacket falling away, revealing untamable blonde hair, and three distinctive whisker like marks on each cheek.

It was the sound of footsteps that finally got him to look up. The boy looked around for the source of the sound, and finally saw a man.

He was pretty tall, and was a giant compared to the boy. Blonde hair, untamable as the boy's, could be seen through the see-through umbrella he held in one hand. His eyes were a bright blue, as bright as the hidden sky. On his forehead was the head-band of Konoha, signifying that he was a ninja. His coat was distinctive, for it was white with red flame on the hem. In one had was the previously mentioned umbrella, and in the other, a bag of groceries.

The boy, in all his life had never seen anyone like this man. 'Who…?' realizing his hood was down, the boy put it up, only to have piled up water drench his already cold head.

The man walked past, seeming to take no notice of the boy. Unsure of what to do, the boy followed him. Trying to keep up with the man's long strides, the child ran after him, and gently grabbed the hem of the man's coat.

Feeling the light tug, the man looked down to find the boy. Even in the rain it was obvious that the boy had been crying, his blue eyes a bit red and swollen.

"Hm? What is it little guy? Lost?" the man asked his voice kind. He seemed surprised to find the child there.

The boy nodded, and the man noticed the scrapes on his hands, as well as the cut on his forehead.

"Ah, looks like you've taken a bit of a tumble," he said, putting the groceries down and the umbrella on his shoulder. He bent down to the boy's level, reached into a pocket, and brought out some bandages. He carefully wrapped his tiny hands and asked "Where are you're parents? Aren't they worried about you?" The man placed a band-aid on the cut.

The boy only shook his head, refusing to speak. The child's eyes darkened at the mention of parents.

"Oh. You mean…you don't have parents…" the man nodded. Straightening, he grabbed his groceries and said "How about I take you home?"

The boy looked down, a little afraid of what would happen to him if he went back to the orphanage. He also didn't want the man to get hurt too, since he had been so nice. But he followed anyway, still holding the man's coat.

Eventually, they reached the orphanage, but the man stopped just before anyone would be able to see him from the building.

The boy looked up at him, and the man bent down again, saying, "Well, you're home. Be good, OK?"

The boy nodded, and began to walk to the orphanage. He looked back to thank the kind man, but saw no one there. Nothing but the rain and the falling dusk.

"Naruto!"

The boy turned at the sound of the voice to see the matron and senior caretaker of the orphanage coming.

"'Baa-chan!" Naruto's face lit up, and he raced for the old woman.

"There you are! Where on earth were you? I was worried sick!" the woman scooped him up into a tight hug.

"Sakaya and the meanies threw me out," Naruto said. "They said if I come back---"

"I should have known," Obaa-chan said, taking the child inside. "Always causing trouble…"

Lightening struck, then thunder rumbled, shaking all of Konoha.

The old woman looked up, and said quietly, "Apparently Arashi agrees too."

(Note, Arashi means 'Storm')

AN: Well, that was fun! I like this one!

Now as to where I got this idea, my friend gave me a pile of pics to look through, a lot of them fan pics. I looked through them, and found an adorable one. It showed the fourth Hokage, a see through umbrella in one hand and a bag of groceries in another, looking down at a toddler Naruto. The little guy was in a bright yellow raincoat with galoshes on. It was soooo cute!! Unfortunately, I knew that this would never happen in the real story, but I was trying to figure out a way as to how it could happen when bam! I thought, 'What if Arashi was a spirit?' After that it all just pieced together.

Well. Thanks for reading, and tell me what you think!


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